SavingsAngel.com: Summer savings start now

The easiest way to cut your grocery bill in half is by using manufacturers' coupons combined with the best sales at local West Michigan stores. Normally, this takes a lot of work to create a winning shopping list for your family.

Each week, SavingsAngel.com combines more than 2,000 products on sale at local grocery and drug stores with their enormous database of manufacturer coupons -- which are found in Sunday's Grand Rapids Press and, sometimes, online. This combination results in access to more than 300 products each week for 50 percent off or better.

Shopping by the calendar is an important principle to cutting your grocery bill in half and getting some great ‘Extreme Couponing’ savings. As the shopper for your family, you know that certain times of year, you’ll be able to get certain products for pennies on the dollar. With this knowledge of what’s coming up, you seize the opportunity and buy many months' worth and perhaps a full year’s worth of these products.

Last week ushered in some great summer deals. Here’s what you should be on the lookout for:

Why would you buy a year’s worth of barbecue sauce, for example? It will last more than a year and it’s free! There have been several high value coupons for summer products such as barbecue sauce in the Sunday Grand Rapids Press. Combine these high value products with some great local sales, and you can use your savings to fill your pantry now. When October and November come around, other families will be adding this product to their shopping list. You won’t because you’ll have it on hand.

Concepts like filling many pantry shelves with food, loading up the freezer with meats, or buying 8 bottles of something may feel a bit unusual and may even feel like hoarding. This is hardly the case. As the shopper for your family, I believe you have a duty to your family to buy the foods your family eats at the lowest possible prices. Why would you pay twice as much a few months from now when you can get these summer products this month for a fraction of the cost?

Remember that you are the one who decides what goes in your cart. You may dislike the free barbecue sauce because it contains high fructose corn syrup. You may not like processed foods. You may not like anything besides a very limited scope of foods that meet your dietary beliefs. Your summer shopping list might look different, but it doesn’t change the fact that stocking up when prices are low is a wise shopping principle. Coupons and sales are available for nearly every type of food. If there’s a way to get the products you want at a much lower cost, it’s worth the time spent planning.

LAND O’ LAKES SPREADABLE BUTTER (6.5-8 oz)

Regular price: $2.19
Sale price: $1.50 at Family Fare
Coupon: 50 cents printable online
Final Price: $1
Math: $1.50-$0.50=$1
SavingsAngel says: Great on rolls or toast right from the fridge.

Josh Elledge is chief executive "angel" of SavingsAngel Inc., a West Michigan-based company launched from his Holland home in January 2007.

A husband and father of three, Elledge appears on a number of local radio stations, teaching West Michigan families how to cut their grocery bill.

Elledge created the technology found on SavingsAngel.com through the need to save his own family's money. Successfully able to cut his grocery bill from $600 a month to less than $300, Elledge began sharing his message, which has reached hundreds of thousands of families.

SavingsAngel.com is growing rapidly throughout the country. You can watch a short video at SavingsAngel.com that explains more about how to cut your grocery bill with the help of SavingsAngel.com.

Hear him locally on WJQK-FM (99.3) in Holland from 7:30 to 8 a.m. Tuesdays and on WPNW-AM (1250) in Zeeland from 1:55 to 2 p.m. Tuesdays.